ToughStuff were also Highly Commended in The Energy Product/Service Award category sponsored by the Energy Institute. This award recognises companies which have launched a product or service inspired by its sustainable benefits.

The judges said that ToughStuff offered “a suitable and economic solution to areas of great need that should have tremendous potential across large parts of the world”.

Other category winners at this year’s event which had over 600 entries from the UK included companies such as Bovis, JC Stewarts, McDonald’s, Tesco and Seacourt.

Andrew Tanswell, Group Chief Executive Officer said “ToughStuff is delighted to have received such a strong endorsement of our business and its products. The fact that ToughStuff has been successful amongst so many well established companies is a great boost to our business aim of alleviating poverty and improving the environment for millions of poor people in developing countries or the developing world”.

Donna Bushell, event director, commented: “We’ve been impressed by the record number of entries again this year. We’re delighted to see that so many companies are responding to the low carbon challenge and we’re pleased to be able to reward their efforts in this celebration of excellence and innovation.”

Read the full press release here and support ToughStuff here.

Our products are built to sustain the harsh African environment and exceed all electromagnetic compatibility (EC) certification criteria. Click on each product below to view the .pdf certificate of EC compliance.

• Power Pack - TUV EC Attestation of Compliance
• LED Lamp - TUV EC Attestation of Compliance
• Radio Connector - TUV EC Attestation of Compliance

Tough videos

ToughStuff takes pride in the reliability and durable nature of our products. Here are just a few of the ToughTests we perform on a daily basis.

Watch a Subaru run over a solar panel at full speed.

If you have any ideas for how to test the tough-nature of our products, contact us and share your ideas.

In making a donation to ToughStuff you agree to defend, indemnify and hold ToughStuff harmless from and against any and all claims, damages, costs and expenses, including attorneys’ fees, arising from or related to your use of the Site or use of our Products.

Shipping
Your products will be shipped within 2 weeks of ToughStuff receiving payment.

Guarantee
ToughStuff will replace any products that are faulty or broken upon receiving your delivery. You must inform ToughStuff of the broken products within two weeks of their shipping date. You must send us the broken products back to receive fixed products. We will not replace products that you broke. This guarantee is only available for two weeks following the shipping date.

Privacy Statement
At ToughStuff, we are committed to protecting your privacy. We do not sell or rent information about our customers. All information provided to ToughStuff remains absolutely confidential.

Carbon Credits
In making a donation to ToughStuff, you release any claim on any carbon credits or any financing from those carbon credits that make come from our products. We have priced our products cheaper in anticipation of received funding from selling our Carbon Credits. We need carbon credit financing to make our products affordable enough for our target market to purchase them.

ToughStuff is NOT a non-profit

Since ToughStuff is classified as a “social enterprise” your donations WILL NOT be tax deductible. ToughStuff exist to alleviate poverty in developing countries and to help protect the environment. We believe the best way to accomplish this goal on a broad scale is to operate as a business. By selling our products we’re able to help many more people than if we were dependent on donations alone to give products away. And every dollar invested in ToughStuff will be repaid and can be used again for other social causes.

DISCLAIMER
IN NO EVENT SHALL TOUGHSTUFF BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, PUNITIVE, INCIDENTAL, EXEMPLARY OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF TOUGHSTUFF HAS BEEN PREVIOUSLY ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES, WHETHER IN AN ACTION, UNDER CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE OR ANY OTHER THEORY, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE, INABILITY TO USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THE INFORMATION, SERVICES, PRODUCTS AND MATERIALS AVAILABLE FROM THE SITE. THESE LIMITATIONS SHALL APPLY NOTWITHSTANDING ANY FAILURE OF ESSENTIAL PURPOSE OR THE EXISTENCE OF ANY LIMITED REMEDY.

Purchase your samples here or contact us with comments, concerns or questions.

Do the radio connectors only replace ‘D’ cells in radios and other small appliances?
Radio Connectors are sized to match D-cells (80% or more of radios in Africa take D-cells). Appliances that take smaller size batteries won’t fit.

How can you tell when the products are charged or how much life they have left?
A green led flashes while charging but will burn continuously when fully charged (but still connected to the power source), to alert the user that he can now use the panel for another appliance. There is no ‘fuel gauge’ to indicate how much power is left. Such a feature would make the product more expensive, whilst the electronic circuit needed for it would consume power that can be used for lighting, playing radios etc.

How are the lamp and the battery pack protected from overcharging?
The lamp & power pack have charge controllers that protect the rechargeable batteries inside from overcharging.

Do the radio connectors store power?
No. The radio connectors are simply a convenient and safe way to connect a  power source (such as the solar panel or the battery power pack) to a radio (or other appliance). One places the connectors directly into a radio where batteries would usually go. The active connector has a jack to plug the lamp or battery back directly into. Thus, a radio will work only while attached through the connectors to a power source.

How do the lamps do in the rain? Are they water proof?
The panels are fully weather proof, but the other products are not.

However, the lamp is also designed to withstand humidity (e.g. heavy dew if accidentally left out overnight). Testing of early prototypes in humid environments in Africa revealed that if exposed to dew or extreme humidity, moisture could form condensation within the transparent bulb. This was addressed by designing tiny ventilation holes: any condensation that might form will now naturally disappear.

Can you charge the lamp directly with the solar panel, or do you have to have the battery pack?
You can charge the lamp directly, as it has a chargeable battery included. In most cases people choose the solar panel and rechargeable lamp as the entry set. It is not necessary to purchase at the same time the battery pack, which is mainly used to charge mobile phones at night or play radios during the evening when the sun has set.

How long does the lamp last?
In order from lowest intensity setting to brightest: 50 hours, 22 hours, 11 hours, 7 hours. This will degrade slowly over time as it is dependent on the age of rechargeable battery. However, ToughStuff products use special high temperature rechargeable batteries which perform much better than standard batteries in tropical environments. 

How many years does the lamp last?
At least two years. The limiting factor will be gradual degradation of the  rechargeable batteries. These cells confirm to IEC European standards of retaining more than 60% capacity after 500 cycles. A cycle is counted as discharging and then fully (not partially) charging a fully charged battery. Deterioration is therefore gradual. A product is not necessarily fully discharged every day, and 500 cycles is likely to equate to over 2 years, after which 60% service can still be expected.

The LEDs have a life of over 70,000 hours so they will exceed the batteries significantly. If rechargeable AA batteries are available locally, then it is possible to take the lamp to an electrician and ask him to replace the exhausted old batteries with fresh rechargeables. After that, the lamp would be as good as new. We expect that a market would develop for refurbished 2nd hand lamps (which could then become available to those that can’t afford a new set).

How long does it take to charge a lamp? A mobile phone?
This depends on the intensity of avaible sun light and the latitude. To fully charge one lamp takes about 6 hours under full tropical sun: there might be 8-12 useful sun hours per day depending on the location. Most cheap phones in develop countries take 3-4 hours to charge. Most people buy one panel and one lamp, and then use the extra panel capacity to charge up a phone or listen to the radio.

To sum it all up…
ToughStuff relentlessly tests our products with very low-income families in Madagascar. Our research and their feedback has determined that 1 watt is the ideal size to minimize costs and solve people’s needs. This 1 watt panel will charge most cheap African cell phones in 2-3 hours of good lighting. It will also full charge our LED lamp in 5-6 hours; a fully charged Lamp provides ambient (low) light for 30 hours and lighting bright enough to read by for 4-5 hours! Additionally, because our products feature thin-film technology, they perform better in less-than-perfect lighting than other types of PV.
Our panels are unbelievably Tough!

Includes:

• 1Solar Panel
• 1LED Lamp
• 3 Mobile Phone Connectors - 1 of each plug type

*Please note: the samples kit will include 1 (one) 2.0mm Nokia trial version instead of the 3.2mm Motorola connector. Nokia 2.0mm are quite common connectors that newer Nokia models use.

• 1 Active Radio Connector and 1 Passive
• 1 Battery Backup

Price: $22.65 per pack + S&H

United States and European orders

All other countries

The products also create new employment, primarily through micro businesses that rent out or sell products, but equally by prolonging the useful working day.

• Linklaters (Asia)
  Linklaters is providing legal support to ToughStuff as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility commitments. We value their input and expertise as leading professionals in the legal field.

• A leading international microfinance institution
  offers support to local (village) entrepreneurs that sell or rent out ToughStuff products in Madagascar.

• The Salesforce.com Foundation
  was created to apply the core strengths of salesforce.com to help organizations further their social mission, deepen their impact, and better the lives of those in need.

A partnership with ToughStuff offers interesting PR & corporate social responsability opportunities. Contact us if your organisation wants to contribute to our cause.